m22 vs. atom

Did you actually pull the trigger on the Paradigm Atoms yet (previous speaker placement thread) or are you still looking?

If you are still speaker shopping and since shelf placement was something that you were considering, why not consider a speaker that would do well on a shelf? The NHT Classic Zero and Classic Two are sealed box speakers and excel with shelf/near rear wall placement. Many positive reviews out there. They do well with tubes or solid state amplifiers.

To answer your original question, with two mid-range/woofers, the Axiom should sound fuller and richer as it is using two drivers to cover the frequency range from 60hz to 3.5khz. It would not necessarily need more power. Its efficiency rating is 89db, whereas the Atom is rated at 90db ... pretty much the same.

Regards, Rich

No reason to kick yourself. The Atom speaker has been out there for more than 16 years ... it is a good speaker for the money. Each iteration has been a winner.

Getting back to your previous post, you should try shelf placement before buying stands. I have had cats with high flying talents for two decades now and have had to place speakers out of necessity on shelves inside of bookcases, on top of bookcases, on their sides on shelves inside of bookcases ... you get the idea. They perform pretty well, especially if the shelf/bookcase has an open back ... otherwise you wind up with a box inside of a box. If you feel that the bass response is losing something, simply plug the rear port with foam ... it will work just fine.

Regards, Rich